Florence Ayscough
by George J. Dance Florence Wheeler Ayscough (January 21, 1875 - April 24, 1942) was a Canadian poet and translator.Ayscough, Florence Wheelock, Canada's Early Women Writers, Simon Fraser University. Web, July 11, 2015. Life Ayscough was born Florence Wheeler in Shanghai, the daughter of Edith Haswell (Clarke) of Massachusetts, and Thomas Reed Wheelock (?1842-1920) of Annapolis, Nova Scotia. She spent her first 9 years in China, and then attended Mrs. Quincy Shaw's School in Brookline, Massachusetts.Ayscough, Florence, Women in World History: A biographical encyclopedia, Encyclopedia.com. Web, July 11, 2015. At school she met and befriended American poet Amy Lowell. After completing school, she returned to China, where she met and married English merchant and sinologist Francis Ayscough (1859-1933), circa 1895. Ayscough and Lowell collaborated on a book of translations of Chinese poetry, Fir-Flower Tablets, published in 1921, with Ayscough supplying literal translations from the Mandarin for Lowell to turn into finished poems. The Ayscoughs moved to Canada in 1923, settling in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick. Francis Ayscough died in 1933. In 1935, Florence Ayscough married another sinologist, Harley Farnsworth McNair (1891-1947), who became professor of Chinese history at the University of Chicago. Beginning in 1938 Ayscough also began lecturing at the University of Chicago, on Chinese literature. Ayscough died in Chicago in 1942. She is buried in Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, near the grave of E.E. Cummings.Florence Wheelock Ayscough, Find a Grave, October 23, 2010. Web, Mar. 14, 2019. Recognition Acadia University awarded Ayscough an honorary D.Litt. in 1927. Publications Non-fiction *''Chinese Painting''. New York: Mentor Association, 1918. *''Friendly Books on Far Cathay: Being a bibliography for the student, and a synopsis of Chinese history. Shanghai: Commercial Press, 1921. *''The Chinese Idea of a Garden. Shanghai: 1923. *''A Chinese Mirror: Being reflections of the reality behind appearance'' (illustrated by Lucille Douglas). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin / London: Cape, 1925. *''The Autobiography of a Chinese Dog'' (illustrated by Lucille Douglas). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin / London: Cape, 1926. *''Chinese Women: Yesterday and today. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1937. Juvenile *''Firecracker Land: Pictures of the Chinese world for younger readers. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1932. Translated *[https://archive.org/details/firflowertablets00ayscuoft Fir-Flower Tablets: Poems translated from the Chinese] (translated by Ayscough; English versions by Amy Lowell). Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1921. *Du Fu, The Autobiography of a Chinese Poet, A.D. 712-770. (2 volumes), Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin / London: Cape, 1929. Letters *''Florence Ayscough and Amy Lowell: Correspondence of a friendship'' (edited by Harley Farnsworth MacNair). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Florence Ayscough, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 12, 2015. See also *List of Canadian poets References Notes External links ;Poems *Translations by Ayscough & Amy Lowell in Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "An Evening Meeting" by Li Hai-Ku, "The Emperor's Return from a Journey to the South" by Wen Cheng-ming, "On Seeing the Portrait of a Beautiful Concubine" by Ch’en Hung-Shou, "Calligraphy" by Liang T’ung-shu, "The Palace Blossoms" by T’ai Ta-mien, "One Goes a Journey" by Liu Shih-an, "From the Straw Hut among the Seven Peaks" by Lu Kun, "On the Classic of the Hills and Sea" by T’ao Ch’ien, "A Recluse" by Wang Chang-ling, "After How Many Years" by Li Hai-Ku, "The Inn at the Western Lake" by Wang Ching-seng ;Books *Florence Ayscough at Amazon.com ;About *Ayscough, Florence Wheelock at Canada's Early Women Writers *''Knowledge is Pleasure: Florence Ayscough in Shanghai'' by Lindsay Shen, Hong Kong University Press *Florence Wheelock Ayscough at Find a Grave Category:20th-century women writers Category:Canadian women writers Category:Women poets Category:Translators to English Category:20th-century poets Category:Canadian poets Category:Canadian translators